Youth activists favoured in TGTE elections of Australia

[TamilNet, Monday, 24 May 2010, 20:11 GMT]Youth activists Seran Sribalan and Darshan Gunasingham received overwhelming support, tallying 1272 and 1231 respectively out of over 1300 votes registered in the NSW ballot for electing members for Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) held Saturday in the suburbs of Homebush and Wentworthville. Meanwhile, Kulasegaram Sanchayan, a long-time activist of the Tamil Diaspora in Australia, received the highest number of votes for an individual candidate, with 1300 out of 1363.

Sanchayan's selection, along with Tamil radio host Balasingham Prabhakaran, who polled 1193 votes, illustrated renewed faith within the community towards individuals who have been actively involved in mobilising the Australians to advocate for the rights of Eezham Tamils.

The election results in NSW illustrate the growing presence and participation of Tamil youth in shaping the political and intellectual discourse of the Eelam struggle on a global level and reaffirming the continued faith of the Tamil Diaspora in respected individuals actively involved in the struggle for several years, sources in Australia told TamilNet.

Gunasingham and Sribalan will join Janani Balachandaran, a youth activist from Melbourne to represent the younger generation in the TGTE.

Both nominees have been active and visible members of the youth community, their efforts in recent years in raising awareness of the plight of Tamils in the North and North East recognised by voters across the state, young activists told TamilNet.

Delighted by his selection into the Assembly, Sribalan praised the mobilisation of the youth community, particularly in the past 3 years, as a contributing factor into his successful campaign.

“The numbers show that our people see us, the Youth, as the fuel to push forward our struggle and articulate our aspirations”.

“I am honoured by the selection, and I consciously aware of the task ahead and what is required of me as a representative of my people, both here and in the homeland” he said.

Gunasingham, who has been widely praised by the community for his involvement in initiatives undertaken by various Tamil youth and political organisations, also acknowledged the impact of the youth in raising the profile of the Eezham struggle in Australia before praising the community for embracing the presence of the next generation in popular politics.

“Our community has been shaped by the plight of our brethren in our homeland, and the results today show that they have faith in the Tamil youth, a belief based upon the results they have seen in recent years” he observed.

The elected from NSW will join 6 other representatives elected uncontested across Australia to make up the Constitutional Assembly of the TGTE.

Selvanathan Eliyathamby from QLD has been elected into the Interim Executive Committee of the TGTE already in the inaugural sessions held in Philadelphia, London and Geneva during May 17 - May 19.